


Lazy Days

by 48eyesand32teeth1sharptongue



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, I can't write anything without angst right now I'm so sorry, I made Bruce Jewish and no one is gonna stop me, I want to say Batman is like 50 ish, but I honestly just wanted to throw everyone in a room, fluff is hard okay?, it's like his permanent state of being along with Tired, the barest hint of unhealthy batjokes because I might have a problem, then again it's hard to write batman without angst considering, this is really short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 09:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16992528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/48eyesand32teeth1sharptongue/pseuds/48eyesand32teeth1sharptongue
Summary: Sometimes the Bat Family just needs to celebrate together.





	Lazy Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElfinNevermore17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfinNevermore17/gifts).



> THIS IS FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BEST.
> 
> I apologize for the quality but I tried to write something ridiculously fluffy. Then the angst just showed up, so hopefully the angst isn't too bad for the fluffy bits.
> 
> *hugs you from afar*
> 
> Thank you for being an amazing person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, context: Selina is based on her Gotham version as are the riddler and penguin, Gordon is based on a mishmosh of his version in Gotham and The Dark Knight, as is the Joker and Alfred, Bruce is the version from Gotham but older, Tim still had the stuff in the backstory of that movie we were watching happen but Joker has plot immunity and Tim ends up okay, Jason is still Red Hood but makes some concessions for Tim and Damian and Alfred only, Barbara is Batgirl version, not the Gotham one.... Uh... I think that's it for now.

Batman generally tends to subscribe to a tight work schedule and avoids days off whenever possible.

But Alfred is still a man on a mission, and Bruce knows there are some concessions that are non-negotiable. Taking one night off to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah is one of them, and while Bruce still always celebrates beforehand on the nights he has to patrol, having one permanent night off does allow him to recover, considering all the ways protecting Gotham takes its toll.

It's not surprising they get at least one night, barring some catastrophe or spectacle fueled by the season, although most of Batman's villains have learned to take a vacation around the same time, otherwise all the Bat Family shows up to take them down, and that is not something any part of Gotham forgets easily.

The Riddler and Penguin don't really try anything around this time, seeing as they enjoy the holidays in their own way, and no one wants to have to deal with bruises and explosions and hand-to-hand combat and gangs and scuffles with Batman during the holidays if they can avoid it.

Even the Joker usually keep things painfully quiet and close to the chest this time of year. Jeremiah always gets distant, gets sharper, and usually strikes a few days after around New Years, leaving that one small lull of peace so that the rest of the time Batman is up to his ears trying to stop Gotham from crumbling around them thanks to a newly renewed resolution. The Joker may be many things, a creature of chaos, but there is calculation and manipulation to the madness, and there are some rituals he keeps.

(Every few years, there are purple presents left on the porch, always empty, always a warning- _don't you forget about me, Brucie, don't you forget I'm coming for everything you are, for everyone you claim to love, because we're in this together, you and me_ \- and Batman tells no one, because if he didn't stop himself he'd start to become something he doesn't want to be, that the Joker almost changed him into, and saying anything would only lead to raised hackles and fear and memory and pain and people rushing out the door to fight ghosts that only want to destroy them.)

Otherwise, the Joker doesn't do anything, after everything else he's done... After how close Batman has come to ending it, after Jason, after Tim...

Bruce tries not to look over his shoulder, to see if Jeremiah has tried anything this time, because he knows Batman, knows Bruce, knows the lengths he will go to protect his family... But for the past decade, it's only ever a warning.

The year he strikes the manor directly on the day of nothing is the year everything will probably come tumbling down.

But that night is not tonight.

So it goes: one night off is part of their arrangement every year, by Alfred's assurances and the Joker's fragile sense of ego.

It allows Barbara and Jim to share in the holiday festivities as well, seeing as they've all seen so much go down in this city, they all need a time and place to unwind, and Bruce's manor has more than enough room to spare.

And when it comes to the holidays, it's rare that Damian and Tim and Dick and even Jason are around at the same time, seeing as they all have their own projects. Katherine, too, seeing as she's been travelling farther afield.

Especially Jason, in particular, seeing as every other time of the year he avoids everyone like the plague. They may not be actively fighting during the holidays, but that doesn't change the fact tensions haven't exactly eased between him and Dick and Bruce himself, with him being Red Hood. But he still shows up, thanks to Damian and Alfred. Mostly for Damian, though. Bruce doesn't know what he got the kid this year, but usually any gifts aren't a lethal weapon. Alfred put a lid on those the first time, and ever since the gift giving has become very tame. Dick even started gag gifts, and ever since, people have upheld the long-standing jokes, each one getting more elaborate year by year.

There's a Christmas tree and a menorah already set up in the kitchen, Damian and Tim saying the prayers together. Damian is very serious about it, because it's something he feels is very different from everything else he's known.

In all the ways he has not been allowed to be a child, Bruce hopes this ritual might be enough to help him let go. It's almost meditative, and different from anything the League would ever do. A part of Damian's history that can't be taken from him or re-purposed like so many other ways Talia and Ra's al Ghul tried to do to him. It's a kind of safety. A kind of innocence. Holding on to history and family and survival in a way that came long before them and will exist long after.

Before giving out gifts and singing carols and watching movies, everyone likes being near the fire and close by, but the library still tends to be avoided out of principle. Lucius is already making a toast with eggnog with Jim, while Selina and Dick are arguing about catwalks and acrobatics. Bruce doesn't pry- Alfred is still trying to help Jason stay calm as best he can, and Bruce wants to keep an eye on them, just in case.

Then Katherine is putting a mug of hot chocolate in his hand and patting his shoulder in a voiceless show of saying, "ease off, Alfred can handle this, we all can," before she wanders back to talk shop to Barbara about Vicki Vale's newest scandal and their joint dating woes.

And that is how Batman finds himself celebrating holiday cheer, surrounded by all the people he considers family.

There is warmth and light and candles and snow outside, but the world still seems like a less remote place.

And Batman's heart doesn't feel trapped in the darkness, like he's drowning in a past he can't run from.

No, tonight, like the nights whenever his family is near and safe and comfortable, driven by love and not the beast they need to root out from Gotham's core, Bruce feels like there is another light in the darkness, lit up by all the people around him who are trying their best every day.


End file.
